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Natural Resources Canada > Earth Sciences Sector > Geological Survey of Canada > Geomagnetism
Geomagnetism Magnetic components
The Earth's magnetic field is a vector quantity; at each point in space it has a strength and a direction.
To completely describe it we need three quantities. These may be:
- three orthogonal strength components (X, Y, and Z);
- the total field strength and two angles (F, D, I); or
- two strength components and an angle (H, Z, D)
The relationship between these 7 elements is shown in the diagram.
Figure 4: Magnetic elements |
Magnetic components
| Component |
Description |
| F | the total intensity of the magnetic field vector |
| H | the horizontal component of the magnetic field vector |
| Z | the vertical component of the magnetic field vector; by convention Z is positive downward |
| X | the north component of the magnetic field |
| Y | the east component of the magnetic field |
| D | magnetic declination, defined as the angle between true north and the horizontal component of the field measured eastward from true north |
| I | magnetic inclination, defined as the angle measured from the horizontal plane to the magnetic field vector; downward is positive |
D and I are measured in degrees. All other elements are measured in nanotesla (nT; 1 nT = 10-9 Tesla).
The seven elements are related through the following simple expressions.
Use the magnetic field calculator to calculate the magnetic elements for any location.
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